Four Years and Twenty-Four Hours
by CrystallineMaple
Summary: Misaki gets drunk and makes a huge mistake. He's given another chance—he will have to relive the week leading up to his error and avert the events leading up to his mistake. The catch? Each day he wakes up, his life is very different, and so are the people around him... (Includes Egoist and SIH.)
1. Chapter 1

_I have never written a story for_ _Junjō Romantica before, and I hope my plot isn't too overused or OOC! Anyway, I'd really appreciate it if you would let me know what you think of the story so I can know whether to continue. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

"Misaki-kun, are you all right?"

Misaki felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and the familiar scent of Aikawa-san's floral perfume filled his nose. She tapped his shoulder twice, French-manicured nails flashing in the dim lighting. They were all attending a big, fancy gathering for an award Usagi-san was being nominated for; a big, fancy gathering that Misaki didn't really comprehend, but he'd attended because, of course, Usagi-san would refuse were he not there. Whenever something went wrong over the course of the evening, Misaki accepted a drink. Never one to drink that much, he found himself wasted pretty quickly: Usagi-san was in a _terrible_ mood (drink!), some beautiful author known for her good looks and exquisite writing kept clinging to Misaki's stupid rabbit (drink!), and Ijuuin was attending, too (two drinks!).

"Misaki-kun, you're drunk. I think we should think about heading home," Aikawa said, shaking Misaki vigorously. "Come on, can you even stand up?"

"'S'fine," Misaki muttered, standing up from where he'd been camped out in the corner near the refreshments table. "I'm okay." The room dipped around him, the lights turning into the ceiling and vice versa. Misaki shook his head and his vision focused. "Need to use the restroom."

"It's down the hall," Aikawa said, jabbing a finger in the direction of the doors. "Misaki-kun..."

"Be right back," Misaki said, shuffling over to the hallway. The hallways of the hotel where the event was being hosted seemed endless, and in his search for the restrooms, Misaki felt as if he were trapped in a maze. His drunkenness didn't help, either, and after wandering around for what felt like ten minutes, he ran right into someone.

"Sorry," Misaki said rather emotionlessly.

"Takahashi-kun! You're less jumpy than usual."

Misaki forced himself to focus. Shit. It was Ijuuin. "S-sensei? Oh! Excuse me! I'm sorry!"

Ijuuin narrowed his eyes, a pleasant smile on his face. One might mistake it for a receptionist smile, but Misaki knew that meant Ijuuin had a plan. "Are you drunk, Takahashi-kun?"

"Ah"—Misaki ran a hand through his hair—"I... I'm not?"

Ijuuin took a step closer, and Misaki found himself unable to move. "I didn't know you'd be here. I saw you briefly earlier, but when I went to talk to you, you ran off."

"Getting a drink," Misaki blurted out, then realized he probably shouldn't have said that. "Um, congratulations! Sensei, congratulations on being nominated."

Ijuuin laughed. "Takahashi-kun! I wasn't nominated. I'm just attending as a guest. This is a literary award!" He smiled. "You really do think without speaking, now, don't you?"

Misaki blushed. "I'm sorry."

The mangaka leaned in even closer, close enough that he could smell the alcohol on Misaki's breath. "It's okay, Takahashi-kun. You know I like that about you. I always have."

"Yes, well—"

"Aww. Come on, why don't you try it now?"

"Try what?" Misaki furrowed his brow. He was so confused, and the lights were so bright, and _Ijuuin-sensei was so handsome..._

"Go on a date with me," Ijuuin said.

Misaki didn't say anything, his usually bright green eyes clouded with drink, and Ijuuin leaned forward, seizing his golden opportunity, and closed the gap between their lips.

Under any other circumstances, Misaki would have pulled away immediately, stuttering on and on about Usagi-san, but today, he couldn't. Ijuuin's lips were so warm; Misaki's very own idol...

From a distance away, Usagi waited, his breath caught in his chest, for Misaki to jump away, to run, but instead, no, _no,_ Misaki was pressing against Ijuuin... Usagi was about to burst into the room and quite possibly beat the shit out of that horrible mangaka, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard Misaki's voice. His beautiful Misaki. Kissing someone else. And in the middle of Misaki's unsettling kiss with that someone else, Usagi heard his lover moan.

 _"Ijuuin-sensei..."_

* * *

Ijuuin's hands were loosening Misaki's tie when the boy finally came to his senses. _I shouldn't be doing this. No. Oh, no. I've made a huge mistake..._ Misaki's eyes widened in pure horror as he realized the weight of his actions; he stumbled backward and pushed Ijuuin away from him. "Sensei, I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I need to go!" He whirled around and took off down the hallway, adrenaline and fear causing him to sober up a little.

He'd just. He'd.

He burst into the event room of the hotel, stopping when people near the doorway looked at him strangely. He gasped for air and slowed down, retreating back to his corner. He sat down and buried his face in his hands. _Calm down. Calm down. It's gonna be okay. You're drunk is all._

"Misaki."

Misaki's eyes, hidden in his palms, shot open. "U-Usagi-san..."

"We're going home." The author's voice was frigid, and Misaki flinched. Oh, God. Did Usagi-san know?

"Wh-what about Aikawa-san and Isaka-san?"

"They know we're leaving. Get up. Now."

"Okay," Misaki said meekly, standing and following Usagi-san. The author was several steps ahead of him, walking quickly, and it seemed he didn't really care whether Misaki was following him.

"Usagi-san—"

They reached the parking lot. The sky outside was pitch-black, clouds covering the moon. A streetlight lit the vicinity, and Misaki stared at the concrete. Shit. He was so fucked. He got into the car, and as Usagi pulled out of the parking lot, Misaki broke the silence, his voice tentative and nervous. "Um, Usagi-san?"

Usagi finally spoke. "All this time, I endured you being around that corrupt mangaka. Do you know why?"

Misaki, who had been staring straight ahead, snapped his attention to the driver's seat. Usagi-san knew. He _knew._

"It's because I trusted you," Usagi continued after there was a long moment of silence that Misaki hadn't attempted to break. "I trusted you, Misaki. I know that I get unreasonably jealous, but with this Ijuuin, it wasn't the same." Usagi spat the name as if it were something caught on the bottom of his shoe. "But the thing is, you always pushed him away before. What was so different about tonight?"

Misaki was floored. "I... I'm drunk. Th-that's not an excuse! I know! I'm sorry. I. Oh, God." Misaki felt sick. There was no correct way to phrase himself. He didn't have an excuse, really. Yes, he was drunk. He was also a little bit pissed about that bombshell author who'd been so into _his_ Usagi-san. But he also knew that no matter how many single and stunning authors approached Usagi, the stupid rabbit would always run back to Misaki. And Misaki had completely let him down.

"Usagi-san, I am so, so sorry," whispered Misaki.

Usagi kept his eyes on the road. "We can gather up your things tomorrow."

The words sent sheer panic through Misaki's heart. "Are you kicking me out?"

For once, Usagi looked like he might cry. "No. I thought you would want to go. I thought you were going to go to Ijuuin."

"Usagi-san, I—"

 _I love you,_ Misaki thought. Nothing else was said for the rest of the drive. Misaki felt like his heart might explode, but not in the usual way. Normally when he was with Usagi, he felt that way, but it was because of the things Usagi said about loving him forever, or feeling Usagi's hands touching him... but this, this was absolutely awful.

When they got back to Usagi's apartment, it was all Misaki could do to keep himself from collapsing onto the ground. They stood in silence for a minute, flooded by the bright light of the living area, when Usagi finally headed toward the stairs. "I am going to bed."

Normally Misaki would follow. He rarely slept in his own room. But tonight, he sensed that was not a wise move. "Usagi-san. It will never happen again. I promise."

Usagi turned to Misaki, fixing his broken violet eyes on his lover's green ones. "It better not" was his only reply, then he turned and walked into his bedroom, shutting the door.

Misaki heard the lock click shut.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so much for your support! I'm so glad you decided to stick around. Please let me know what you think!  
_

* * *

Misaki turned over and over in his bed, absolutely restless. He'd spent a good two hours doing breathing exercises, scouring the Internet for WikiHow articles on what do to when you accidentally cheated on the love of your life, and wondering how he was going to pick up the disastrous mess. Normally, he'd call Takahiro for advice, but that obviously wasn't an option here. Aikawa-san, maybe? Would she help out? Probably, yeah. She wouldn't want Marukawa's best author to fall into a slump due to being absolutely shattered...

 _No, you idiot,_ Misaki thought, sitting up in bed and running a hand through his messy hair, _Aikawa-san'll help you out because she's your_ friend.

He sighed and laid back down, pulling the sheets over his head.

 _I'm sorry, Usagi-san. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

Misaki rolled over, sniffling when the cold bed met his skin. He was so used to his warm, stupid rabbit...

He sank into troubled sleep, choking back tears.

* * *

"Misaki-kun? Misaki-kun, wake up!"

Misaki was shaken awake gently by an unfamiliar voice, an unfamiliar hand—the smell of a home-cooked meal hit his nose, which _never_ usually happened. Usagi-san couldn't dream of cooking! The boy's eyes flew open and took in the face of the stranger standing over him.

Dark hair, warm smile, blue eyes—not blue like the sky, blue like the deepest depths of the ocean—Misaki sat up quickly. He was in an apartment, but not a giant expensive one like Usagi-san's. Just a normal one. The scent of food coming from the kitchen smelled delicious, and Misaki's stomach growled loudly. The man who had woken him up laughed heartily. "Misaki-kun, I made breakfast. It's one of those rare occasions where we both have a day off today, so I've planned lots of fun activities for us, okay?"

"Wh...where is Usagi-san?" Misaki asked reluctantly, following the man into the kitchen.

"Who's that?"

"I need to use the restroom," said Misaki quickly. "I'll be right back." He ducked into the washroom and locked the door, on the verge of panicking. What the hell was going on? It wasn't a dream, but it had to be! He had no clue where he was, in some stranger's apartment...

"Oi, Misaki-kun? I'm going to get the mail!" the stranger called from the hallway, and a few seconds later, Misaki heard the front door open and shut. Misaki turned on the faucet, splashed his face with cool water, and stared at his reflection. He looked the same. He felt the same. But what exactly was happening? A dream sequence? A hallucination? Was he still drunk from the night before, maybe?

He walked into the kitchen, dished out some breakfast that his roommate—or whoever that guy was—had prepared, and sat at the table. Misaki had convinced himself. He was probably still drunk from the literature award ceremony and this was some extended imagination thing. Relieved, he dug into the food. It was wonderful, and he was in the process of stuffing his face when the blue-eyed man returned to the apartment, a stack of envelopes in his hand.

"Is the food okay?" he asked, kicking off his shoes and grabbing a plate to join Misaki at the table.

"It's great," Misaki said honestly, watching as the stranger dropped the envelopes on the table. Misaki snuck a glance at them. They were addressed to Nowaki Kusama. So that was the man's name. Kusama-san.

"This one's for you," Kusama-san said, pushing an envelope over to Misaki. "Kinda weird, though. Must've been dropped off by hand. There's no address or anything on it."

Misaki opened it hesitantly. The letter was typed and creased neatly.

 _Dear Misaki Takahashi,_

 _You are quite aware that you have made a big mistake, and I assume you regret it. You have been given a second chance.  
The literature award you attended 'last night'? It is happening one week from now.  
You must relive this week and prevent the things leading up to your little accident from happening.  
That's too simple, however, so that is why every day you wake up this week, your life will be different.  
Your actions will have weight if you play the game correctly. __The only inconsistency will be you.  
_ _Find a way to fix this.  
I don't think you would like to know what your life will look like if you don't._

That was it.

Kusama-san took a drink of water, staring curiously at the note. "What is that?"

"Kusama-san," Misaki began, but was cut off when Kusama-san let out another loud laugh. "What's up with you this morning, Misaki-kun? You haven't called me that in ages. Is everything all right?"

"I think I hit my head," grumbled Misaki, but Kusama-san only laughed again. "You say the funniest things."

Misaki flinched, knowing he had to get this stupid man's name right. "Nooowaki...?" he guessed indecisively.

Kusama-san set down his chopsticks. "Yes?"

Hmm. Misaki decided he wanted to know more about the world he would be living in for that day. "Did you hear about the literary award ceremony that's happening next Friday?"

"Oh, you mean that big one going on in downtown Tokyo? I think I heard about it on the news the other day."

 _Prevent my mistake from happening?_ Misaki shifted uncomfortably. How was he supposed to do that if each day was going to be set in a different life and he didn't have a damn clue what was going on? "So, uh, Nowaki, what do you have planned for today?"

Kusama-san's smile became so radiant that Misaki was surprised he didn't need to pull on a pair of sunglasses. God, Usagi-san _never_ smiled like that. Well, maybe if he were really drunk or something. But still. Could a man even be that happy?

"Happy anniversary, Misaki."

Misaki choked on his drink. He was glad he didn't spit it out, but he coughed and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. _Anniversary?! What kind of mess have I gotten myself into!_ Okay, okay. So this Nowaki Kusama was his lover instead of Usagi-san. For a day. Though Misaki felt absolutely baffled, he knew that he couldn't hurt Kusama-san's feelings. "Of course," he said, quickly covering up his shock, "I am so happy! I just... am surprised. Not that I thought you'd forget. Ah, I'm so happy," he lied, forcing a giant grin to eclipse his face.

"I love you."

Misaki blushed. "I love you, too, Nowaki," he choked out. "Err, excuse me. I'm going to use the restroom before we leave." He washed off his plate and bolted, seeking shelter once more in the tiled bathroom. This was not good. He tried to comfort himself by reminding himself that this stranger would only be in love with him for twenty-four hours and then it would be over. But something else was tugging at the back of his mind. Was this stranger really all that strange? Misaki felt as if he had seen him before, but couldn't remember where—

"Oh my God," Misaki whispered. Kamijou-sensei. Kusama-san was the man who had been with Kamijou-sensei on the rare (and awkward) occasions Misaki had happened across the professor while with Usagi-san. So where, then, was Kamijou-sensei?

"Misaki-kun? You ready to go?"

"Coming," Misaki called weakly.

* * *

Blue light reflected on Misaki's face as he stared at the fish swimming in the tanks, his hands pressed against the glass. All day, he'd been thinking about the letter. Was it actually possible that he'd gone back in time? It was, after all, the Saturday before the literary award. And this definitely wasn't his life.

"The fish are pretty, aren't they?" Kusama-san asked.

"Yes." Misaki liked the aquarium, but he would have a thousand times rather had Usagi-san there with him. Not that Kusama-san was bad company or anything. In fact, Kusama-san was very kind and outgoing—but something about being the lover of his teacher's lover, even if only in some kind of twisted alternate universe, made him uncomfortable. Not being Usagi-san's made him uncomfortable.

His thoughts were interrupted by some kid tapping his leg and saying, "Sorry, sir, but could you please move? I can't see." Misaki complied fondly, as the child reminded him strongly of Mahiro.

"Nii-san!" Misaki exclaimed suddenly, wondering what had happened to his brother and his family. Kusama-san stared at him strangely. "What's the matter? Your older brother? You just talked to Takahashi-san earlier this week."

"Ah, no, it's nothing," Misaki insisted. "Hey, Nowaki? Have you ever heard of a man named Hiroki Kamijou?"

"Yes! He was my tutor a really long time ago." Kusama-san smiled at the memory. "He helped me pass my exams when I was eighteen. He's a good guy, if a bit grumpy. How do you know him?"

"You weren't... in a relationship with him?"

Kusama-san's dark eyes widened. "Oh, no, definitely not! In fact, I actually didn't want—"

"Excuse me?" A smooth, low voice interrupted whatever Kusama-san was going to say.

The hairs on the back of Misaki's neck stood on end when he heard that voice. He was honestly very scared to turn around because he knew _exactly_ who that voice belonged to.

Shit.


End file.
